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"Aim was right, but target moved!"

Such was the quote by a prominent historian back in ‘the day’. The unfortunate Edsel’s reputation has been maligned ever since the controversial car was publicly introduced on Wednesday, September 4, 1957. Had it been introduced just nine days later, it would have debuted on Friday the 13th– although I don’t know how much worse the outcome for this ill-fated marque could have possibly been.

At least one dictionary lists the name ‘Edsel’ as synonymous with ‘loser’. Jokes swirled around the name for decades after the marque was cast aside to join the ranks of ‘orphaned’ automobile makes. The Edsel debacle has been the subject of numerous marketing studies and theses through the years. One of the most common misconceptions by many is that the Edsel was a ‘bad’ automobile, plagued with mechanical bugaboos and malfunctions. Let The FIN MAN set the record straight. The Edsel was a mechanically sound automobile, developed under a flawed marketing program... a prime example of the wrong product at the wrong time. Edsel became a sparkle in the eyes of Ford Motor Company president Henry Ford II and chairman Ernest Breech in 1954 as Ford was recovering from disastrous sales and near collapse of the company in the late forties. They studied rival General Motors with their five-brand model line-up and believed that Ford needed an equally broad base of models. Edsel was intended to be a ‘super Mercury’ if you will, adding another mid-priced brand to the Ford line-up. Pre-production promises of exciting and revolutionary technology, including a ‘steering bar’ with twin, circular rings at each end of a horizontal bar, never made it to production models. In addition to futuristic feature let downs, prospective automobile buyers never warmed up to Edsel’s controversial styling cues, the most prominent of which was the ‘horse-collar’ grill.

The new car, dubbed the ‘E-car’ and the focal point of Ford’s M-E-L plan (Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) was the result of a lengthy marketing production. Naming it was no small task either. Writers, advertising and marketing experts were all called upon to come up with suggestions. Henry Ford’s family never wanted it to bear the younger Ford’s name and Henry said he never wanted to see Edsel’s name spinning round and round on a hubcap. Breech got tired of waiting for a decision and took the bull by the horns, naming the car Edsel, despite opposition from Ford family members.

The end was near for the much anticipated new line from Ford, almost before it began. Only in its second production year, already the line was being watered down, moving from four models in the ‘58 line-up, to just two for 1959. Gone was the Pacer and the glitzy, high line Citation of one year prior. Only the Ranger and Corsair were offered in the second year of production. Gone too were some of the highly touted futuristic features of the Edsel, namely the ‘Teletouch’ gear selector... a push-button arrangement much like Mopars, but mounted centrally in the steering wheel hub. The selector buttons remained stationary while the steering wheel itself rotated around them. Another interesting feature was the horizontally positioned drum type speedometer. The numbers were imprinted on what resembled a small dish, placed upside down and centrally located at the upper portion of the instrument panel. A vertical line appeared in the middle and the dish rotated as speed increased allowing the imprinted speed numbers to pass the center line mark. The ‘59 models had a much more conventional instrument panel and a standard, column mounted shift lever. What was promised in all the preproduction advertising hype, an advanced, futuristic car with features never seen before, became merely a dressed up Ford, all to similar in form and function to the Mercury, but with dubious aesthetic qualities.

Convenience and appearance options were much like typical Ford and Mercury cars. Edsels were built on Ford assembly lines. 1958 models were built in one of six plants including Louisville, Kentucky; San Jose, California; Somerville, Massachusetts; Madwah, New Jersey; Wayne, Michigan and Los Angeles, California. By 1959, only the Louisville plant assembled Edsel automobiles. First year model production was predicted by Ford management to hit 200,000 units, but only a little over 61,000 were actually built. Production for the 1959 model year peaked at just under 45,000 units.

Despite all the negatives, Edsel did produce some new and promising features and is today a highly prized collectible automobile that can often be bought ‘for a song’ compared to many other brands– that’s IF you can find one. According to the Old Cars Price Guide, a ‘59 Edsel Ranger, like the one illustrated above, would run between sixteen and seventeen thousand dollars in near number one, trophy winning condition... a reasonable outlay for a car so rare and with such a fascinating history.

Perusing a recent copy of Auto Trader’s Classic Cars & Parts, turned up not one Edsel. But check back in a month or two and you’re likely to find one here and there. Go to a big car show in your neighborhood this summer and you’ll see a number of ‘57 Chevy Bel Airs, but there would be little chance of seeing an Edsel. One place that you may have a better chance, however, is the upcoming Easter Car Show at the Municipal Opera, upper parking lot in Forest Park. Organized by the Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri, this annual event, held on Easter Sunday, can be one of the biggest and best, or one of the biggest disappointments... depending on the infamous St. Louis weather. Last year it was cold, windy and rainy... so I think we’re due for a nice one for 2009. Be sure to stop by and walk the entire show. If the weather is good, there will be a great display with row after row of historic automobiles. You’ll see cars there that you won’t find at most community shows. Whether you’re just a tire kicker, a collectible car owner or and Edsel fan... you’ll enjoy the day. A bonus, and for a good number of people the feature draw on Easter Sunday, is the hot rod and custom car show on the lower Muny lot. Talk about unique... that’s what custom rods and street machines are all about. Each creation is a work of art unlike any other anywhere in the world. The promoters like to call this one "The REAL Easter Show".

Trivia Answers

1. What is the origin of the name 'Edsel'?

The automobile was named after Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford II and grandson of Henry Ford.

2. Who was president of the United States in 1959?

A. Eisenhower (president 1953-1961)

B. Kennedy

C. Roosevelt

D. Truman

3. Name the song title and the artist who performed the 1959 hit song containing the following lyrics: "I was standing on the corner when I heard my bulldog bark, he was barkin' at the two men who were gamblin' in the dark".

“Stagger Lee” performed by Lloyd Price

4. On November 18, 1959 a multimillion-dollar epic movie was released by MGM. It was a Technicolor film starring Charlton Heston that was critically acclaimed and eventually won 11 Academy Awards, a record held until 1998 when Titanic became the first film to equal that record. What was the name of this classic movie?

Ben-Hur

5. On October of 1959, this 19-year old, former U.S. Marine emigrated to the Soviet Union announcing that he would "never return to the United States".  He did return, however, in 1962 and a year later would be arrested in connection with the assassination of president John F. Kennedy.  What was his name and what was the name of the man who shot and killed him as he was being taken into custody?

Suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald never made it to trial.  He was assassinated by Jack Ruby.

6. What could be considered 'the X-Files of the fifties;’ this classic science fiction anthology series by Rod Serling was released on October 2, 1959 on the CBS television network.  What was its name?

The Twilight Zone sent chills through viewers for five seasons, the last episode airing in 1964.

7. Who was leader of the Soviet Union in 1959 during the so-called 'cold war'?

Nikita Khrushchev

8. What state was admitted to the union on August 21, 1959?

Hawaii